Injured White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson looks out from the dugout in the first inning against the Phillies at Guaranteed Rate Field on April 18, 2023. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune, Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
The Chicago White Sox lineup took a step closer to full strength Tuesday with All-Star shortstop Tim Anderson back in the leadoff spot after returning from the injured list.
That was one of 11 roster moves — including optioning rookie right fielder Oscar Colás to Triple-A Charlotte — as the Sox began the new month with a bit of a new look after going 8-21 in April.
Anderson was slashing .298/.327/.404 with five doubles, four RBIs, five stolen bases and nine runs in 11 games when he sprained his left knee April 10 in Minnesota. The Sox placed him on the IL the next day.
“I’m here and I’m ready to hopefully bring some positive energy back and continue to keep pushing,” Anderson said before Tuesday’s series opener against the Twins at Guaranteed Rate Field. “Definitely was doing everything I could to stay healthy. It was just one of those incidents. A guy ran into me.
“Now, continue to keep pushing and continue to keep trying to stay healthy and do everything I need to do to try to stay in between the lines.”
Colás, the No. 2 prospect in the Sox organization according to MLB.com, made the opening-day roster after a solid spring training. He had struggled lately, hitting .140 (6-for-43) in his last 15 games.
“He wasn’t producing the way we anticipated, and that happens,” manager Pedro Grifol said. “This is a tough level to play at. Some guys get here and produce right away, some guys don’t. Some guys need to go back down and continue to develop.”
Colás is slashing .211/.265/.276 with one homer and seven RBIs in 25 games.
“He needs to slow down the game a little bit,” Grifol said. “He’s a really good defender that he needed to continue to develop out there in the outfield. His plate discipline wasn’t exactly matching the major-league level at this particular time.
“The talent is there. He’s a big part of our future. But he needs to go down and continue to develop. Now that he’s got experience at the major-league level, he can use this experience here when he goes down there to continue his development.”
Gavin Sheets, Eloy Jiménez and Adam Haseley are among the options in right field. Sheets started in right Tuesday with Jiménez the designated hitter.
“We’ll mix and match that in the outfield,” Grifol said. “This is going to be a nice window for Sheets to be able to show what he can do, and it’s just a good opportunity.”
Besides reinstating Anderson and optioning Colás, the Sox announced nine other moves Tuesday:
- Reinstated infielder Hanser Alberto from the 10-day IL.
- Selected the contracts of pitchers Alexander Colomé and Sammy Peralta and outfielder Billy Hamilton from Charlotte.
- Placed reliever Joe Kelly on the paternity list.
- Placed infielder/outfielder Romy Gonzalez on the 10-day IL, retroactive to Monday, with right shoulder inflammation.
- Optioned infielder Lenyn Sosa to Charlotte.
- Designated pitchers Jake Diekman and Frank German for assignment.
“(The moves) weren’t intended to shake the team up,” Grifol said. “They were just intended to make us better.”
Elvis Andrus moved back to second base Tuesday after filling in for Anderson at shortstop.
Sosa, who is slashing .151/.167/.245 with one homer and three RBIs in 16 games, and Gonzalez were seeing time at second base.
“(Sosa) just needs to recalibrate his game and do what he did (Sunday with two hits against the Tampa Bay Rays),” Grifol said. “Put the ball in play, get on base any way he can, run the bases the way you’re supposed to run them and then score runs.
“That’s his job: play defense and score runs. If you simplify to that right there, there’s a lot of things that fall into those two umbrellas. He’s young, he’s talented. Just go do those things down there and continue to develop. He’s going to be part of this thing moving forward.”
Alberto gives the Sox infield depth, and Hamilton, who played for the Sox in 2021, does likewise for the outfield.
Colomé has a 3.38 ERA, seven strikeouts and one save in eight appearances for Charlotte after signing a minor-league contract April 6. He had 42 saves with the Sox in 2019-20. Peralta is 1-1 with a 3.52 ERA, three walks and 15 strikeouts in eight relief appearances for the Knights.
They’re part of a bullpen shuffle that included moving on from Diekman, who has a 7.94 ERA in 13 appearances this season and was 0-4 with a 7.04 ERA and 25 walks in 30⅔ innings since the Sox acquired him at the trade deadline last year from the Boston Red Sox.
“There were some things that we needed at this particular time — length was one of them that was really important to our bullpen and what this club needs right now — and we felt that a change was needed,” Grifol said.
“But Diekman’s got a lot of baseball left in the tank, and I talked to him (Monday) and I wish him the very best. He’s a professional, he’s a leader and he’s had a great career and he’ll continue to have one.”
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Originally published at Tribune News Service